I realize that I should have judged this contest much, much earlier. Nevertheless...

The winner for this contest is jdrakeh with his entry for Kitezh - a great bit of obscure mythology that makes for great gaming!

His entry is also viewable here at the Arcana Wiki - go there if you have any good ideas to add!

The winner will get his $25 gift certificate at the EN Store shortly.

Jürgen Hubert

Among other things, I am trying to develop descriptions of "generic locations" for Urbis - locations which can be found in more than one city-state, as well as descriptions of their structure and purpose.

My current list can be found here. So, what kind of locations am I missing from this list? And what is missing from the descriptions of locations that already have their own entries?

Jürgen Hubert

I've used a newly available script to create a Random Adventure Seed Generator for the Arcana Wiki. Essentially, it creates links to three random pages in the Arcana Wiki, and then encourages the user to construct an adventure seed around them.

Please tell me what you think of it - and if you are in the mood, how about submitting an adventure seed of your own?

Jürgen Hubert

It is a sad fact of gaming that sometimes the players within a gaming group play their characters as complete sociopaths. In such cases, they see the whole world surrounding the characters as little more than sources of XPs and loot, and their interaction even with NPCs they were supposed to deal peacefully with can rapidly go downhill as long as the PCs see the opportunity for more loot.

This is not necessary the sign of deep character flaws on the part of the players. People new to gaming often start out this way, and even more "experienced" gamers might act like this if they haven't had a good DM to show them the way. Still, this state of affairs is generally unsatisfactory to most DMs, as just providing a steady stream of encounters without any real plot development is, at least in my opinion, a deeply tedious and boring affair (if you actually enjoy this, then read no further and I wish the best of luck to you and your gaming group). So what's a frustrated DM to do to change this?

Simply acquiescing and giving the players what they want is a bad idea in such a case. Sure, entertaining the players is part of the job of the DM. But think about it - as the DM, you are putting far more work into the campaign than any of your players. You deserve to be at least as entertained by the antics of the player characters as the players are entertained by your campaign. So you need to teach them a lesson - show, not tell them why the behavior of their characters is a bad idea. Trust me, there is plenty of entertainment to be had here - and along the way, your players might start enjoying the act of role-playing as well, and thus enjoy the game without engaging in sociopathy.

However, many DMs fall into the trap of making such "lessons" rather heavy-handed. For example, if the PCs have robbed a tax collector in the middle of a a forest, the militia in the next village will somehow magically know everything about the incident. And they will be led by a 20th paladin for some reason.

Avoid such immediate and excessive reprisals for misbehavior at all costs. These kinds of punishments might work for puppies (and PARANOIA campaigns), but less so for D&D campaigns. They are widely implausible (as in most cases of railroading), and they will only cause the players to see the world not as a "real" place with "real" people to interact with, but as a stage made out of cardboard with NPCs as marionettes which only exist as mouthpieces for the opinions of the DM. In other words, this will only reinforce their view that the game is all about "the PC against the world" - or rather, "the players against the DM". And all role-playing in such a world would be pointless.

You don't want to be seen as their enemy. The message you want to send is that they are their own worst enemy - and thus, maybe, change their behavior. For this, you need to give them enough rope to hang themselves. This only works if they believe that their actions have real, meaningful consequences for the campaign at large - so you need to empower the player characters enough to make their actions meaningful. But how do you do that?

Read on. And bring plenty of rope.

Stage 1: Free Lunch

If you notice that the player characters may have sociopathic tendencies, don't try to take away their opportunities for amoral behavior. This way, these tendencies might be repressed, but they won't be cured.

Instead, offer them opportunities to indulge in such activities. Stage plausible incidents which seemingly allow them to cheat, murder, and steal without any immediate consequences. Make them choose between doing the right thing and the easy thing, and allow them to profit handsomely from the latter.

At the same time, drop hints that their actions do not occur in a vacuum. For example, if they murder another adventuring party in cold blood that had just emerged from a dungeon with lots of loot, the leader of the militia back in town may ask them if they had seen the other party, "since they left in the same direction." But if they lie about this, don't press the issue. Make them think that they have successfully evaded the consequences for their action and that they are free to enjoy their immoral spoils. Watch as they mock the blindness of those around them.

And say nothing. But take notes of every immoral act they have committed for later reference.

Stage 2: Shaming

After a while, it's time to show them that their actions did have consequences - not for them, but for the other people in the world. Let them watch as good, decent people suffer because of them. Show them the people who go hungry or suffer from disease because they robbed a merchant on the way to their town. Make them encounter the destitute widows and orphans of those they have slain. Throw in a few real tear-jerkers.

But don't make the NPCs suspicious of the party yet. Allow sufficient time for the PCs to develop and display a conscience. If they try to make some sort of amends - openly or in secret - then the characters might yet find redemption. But if not, proceed to the next stage.

Stage 3: Web of Lies

At this stage, the PCs will likely have become powerful enough to attract notice as "mighty heroes". The authorities will likely hire them to deal with all sorts of problems - including a few that they themselves have caused. So what do they do when the local ruler wants them to investigate the death and robbery of one of his tax collectors if the PCs have caused that death in the first place? Likely murder and lie even more to cover their tracks.

And their status as "mighty heroes" also means that other people will want to hear more about their "mighty deeds". The PCs might very well revel in the attention at first. But since they need to continue lying to their audience to cover up their crimes, it will soon become difficult to keep their stories straight among all the player characters.

Keep careful track of what which PC said to whom, and take note of any inconsistencies. Over time, it will become harder and harder to maintain their appearances. Give them plenty of opportunities to commit further sins (such as the disposal of inconvenient witnesses and other people who have figured them out) - but all this will only be delaying the inevitable. Sooner or later, their web of lies will collapse.

And they won't be able to blame anyone but themselves for it. They had plenty of opportunity to move away from the path of Evil, but they choose not to. What happens in the next stages is entirely their own fault.

Stage 4: Pariah

Once their true nature has been exposed, all their lies will quickly collapse. People will remember all the places they have traveled to, and connect their presence with various nefarious deeds that happened during their stay. They will be reviled throughout the land, and bards will sing songs about their depravity. Children will scream at their sight, and streets will empty themselves whenever they enter a town.

Some players might see this as a perverted sign of "respect", so you need to make sure that their descriptions in the tales are anything but flattering. Add tales of utterly vile crimes to the stories about them that the PCs didn't actually commit. This should be rather frustrating for the PCs as they can no longer control their own reputations. Protesting this is unlikely to work - saying "I didn't poison that village/slaughter those nuns/eat those babies" will sound unconvincing, considering all the evil deeds the party did commit. While they can try to argue with others that they are not responsible for those other atrocities, they will soon sense that others will only agree with them because they are afraid of the PCs instead of any real conviction. They will never be able to clear their names.

For some time, the local militias and guards will attempt to stop them whenever they enter a town. Don't bother to play those combats out. Just tell the players: "You defeat them - they are just a bunch of level 1 minions and a level 3 brute, and thus no challenge to you. Just tell me how you defeat them and what you do with them afterwards." Allow them to plunder the town at their leisure if they want. Soon, the towns and villages along their path will react to them similar to how people throughout the ages have reacted to invading armies - read up on such times for examples. Maybe it will give them pause if villagers commit suicide rather than fall into the hands of the PCs...

Now, the greatest heroes of the kingdom and the greatest champions of Good will seek out the PCs to take them down (possibly with a few choice monologues hurled their way if these people knew the PCs from the days when their cover was still intact). These fights will be infrequent (there aren't that many people around who could be a real challenge to the party), but devastating when they do occur. If the PCs manage to survive through all those, eventually the realm will run out of heroes - and it is time to proceed to the next stage.

Stage 5: Anathema

The PCs are now blights upon the land. With the champions of Good struck down, monsters begin to overrun the land and prey on the population. Civilization begins to crumble. Trade slows down to a trickle, and then stops entirely. The cities begin to starve. The rulers that remain fearfully huddle in their castles, not daring to offend the PCs because of their power. The PCs could likely take over their rule - but there is little left worth ruling over.

Significantly for the PCs, money and gold become pretty much worthless by this stage. Basic goods and services - what little of them are still available - will likely be given to the PCs for free in the hopes of staving off their wrath. But the magic items that the PCs are likely to be most interested in become unavailable now - while they might have had luck finding enchanters on the black market during the previous stage, by now all such people have likely fled to far-away hiding places. The mere presence of the PCs either scares them away, or all of their potential customers. And even if some of them had stayed behind for the PCs to find, where would they find the necessary ritual components for the creation of the items the PCs want? Thus, the PCs are reduced to making use of only the magic items they can loot, and any piles of gold and jewels they might carry with them are nothing more than useless, worthless junk.

There are likely to be some remaining fights with powerful, celestial entities and the like. But they may find that they have unexpected allies in such fights - demons or devils who claim that the PCs represent their lords' "most faithful servants". Being told that their souls are fated for the Nine Hells or the Abyss might give the PCs pause. Any attempts at redemption at this stage will be incredibly difficult, if they even try to make the effort.

Final Stage: Doom

As the PCs search yet another old, crumbling ruin in search of powerful treasures, they come across a lengthy inscription chiseled into a stone wall. It tells of a prophecy about the so-called "Harbingers of Doom" who will lead humanity into a dark age. Deciphering it, they realize that this prophecy is about them, and it includes a lengthy list of their most nefarious deeds. It states explicitly that they have slain all the Champions of Light who might have staved off the coming Darkness, dooming humanity to become slaves of monsters forevermore.

And with this, the campaign ends.


Such an end is frustrating for the player characters, since it makes them appear as being fated servants of Evil with no control over their destiny, and no chance of averting it. Yet the message to the players is clear - they, and only they decided to commit one evil deed after another, and their choices alone doomed the world. Hopefully they will have learned that their choices matter, and that maybe they should choose a different path for their next campaign.


And if not... maybe then it is time to seek a new group.

Jürgen Hubert

These are currently the top-rated entries in the Arcana Wiki:

1. Black Shuck
2. Brother XII
3. Monte Ne, Arkansas
4. Rat King
5. Technisches Hilfswerk

Please vote for your own favorite entries on the Arcana Wiki to expand this list!

Jürgen Hubert

Continued from here...

High-level NPCs as Patrons

All of this may sound as if approaching high-level NPCs is a waste of time for the PCs. It's not. They can still be incredibly useful for the player characters - but only if they stop seeing them purely as an additional source of firepower. Instead, they can help the PCs in the following ways:

• Information: High-level NPCs tend to have access to huge sources of information (libraries, social contacts, spies, etc.) which the PCs are unlikely to have on their own. If they have gained access to the NPC and established trust, they might volunteer information that helps the PCs with their own adventures - in some cases, information the PCs didn't even ask for (but would be interested in nonetheless), thus triggering further adventures. The NPC patron can save them many weeks or even months of research, making the PCs glad that they have cultivated his trust.
• Resources: Once the PCs have shown their competence and trustworthiness, the NPC is likely willing to give them resources - money, magic items, henchmen, and so on - which will help them complete their goals as long as his own goals are furthered. And what PC ever says "no" to new stuff?
• Connections: Powerful people tend to hang out with other powerful people. Befriending a single high-level NPC might make it possible for them to move in circles normally impossible to reach for them - the aristocracy and other rulers, rich merchant houses, the highest levels of the military, and so on. This opens up a whole new level of opportunities for the player characters - and provide hooks for plenty of adventures revolving around political and social intrigue.

All of these can be incredibly useful for the player characters - but significantly, none of these allow the NPC to "steal the show" from them. The PCs remain active protagonists in their adventures instead of mere spectators, thus avoiding the main pitfall of featuring such NPCs.

On a whole new level

At some point, the PCs will reach high levels themselves. What to do with high-level NPCs then?

• Change the NPCs from patrons to allies.
• Reveal that they have a hidden agenda, and turn them into new enemies to fight (bonus points if the betrayal has been planned for a very long time...).
• Kill them off in a truly gruesome and spectacular fashion. This will make for a nice starting point for the beginning of the final chapter of the campaign, to show the PCs that the situation is really serious.

Whatever you do, don't try to force the PCs into remaining underlings of the NPC (unless they enjoy that status), as this will only cause further resentment. When the PCs begin to eclipse their former patrons, they should become patrons to others in their own right - or at least, become truly free agents who can shape the world according to their own agenda.

In Conclusion

These are my ideas for handling high-level NPCs in a campaign. If you have some ideas and suggestions of your own, feel free to share them!

Jürgen Hubert

Inspired by this thread.

A frequently-cited problem in games like D&D where high-level characters are vastly more powerful than low-level characters is this: How do you prevent the high-level characters from overshadowing the low-level characters - such as the player characters when they are still young and inexperienced? Why don't those powerful NPCs quickly solve all problems of the world before breakfast, leaving nothing for the PCs to do?

The easiest answer is, of course, that those powerful NPCs don't exist in the first place. This is partially true with Eberron, for example. Alternatively, the PCs might start out in a region with few powerful NPCs - a distant frontier province a long way from the capital, for instance, which few high-level characters bother with. And indeed, this is how a great many campaigns, including published ones, start.

But this isn't a workable solution for all settings. City-based settings especially, such as Ptolus, Sigil of Planescape fame, and my very own Urbis assume that very powerful characters live, if not exactly next door, then at least in a not-too-distant neighborhood. So what to do about the high-level NPCs in such places?

I think a good idea would be to compare those people with modern-day corporate executives and major political figures. These people are very, very busy. Time is their most valuable resource, and thus the time they can spend on any one problem at hand is severly limited. The same is likely true for high-level NPCs in most campaign settings. They constantly have to deal with one crisis or other, the schemes of their enemies, and truly countless requests for aid. So unless the PCs can convince them that there is an impending disaster of truly epic proportions, they won't just drop everything they are doing to help out with the current adventure of the PCs.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let's look at the issue one step at a time.

Gaining Access

Politicians and corporate executives surround themselves with all sorts of secretaries and flunkies mainly for one reason: To limit access for people who would otherwise waste their time. As I've said, time is their most valuable resource And unless the PCs have made a name for themselves, this means that said flunkies will prevent them from accessing the NPC. Failing to gain access is likely to be a very frustrating experience for the PCs (especially if they think that the renewed hostility of a local goblin tribe should receive top priority), so you might consider showing them how many ludicrious requests these people get every day. For example, before them in the waiting line in front of the secretary's office could be someone who insists that a demonic presence is taking over the logal pigeon population (especially sadistic DMs might make this into an actual adventure seed if the PCs are as skeptical as the secretary they want to talk to). Another possibility would be to show them another petitioner with a request that sounds reasonable, but who is well known as a fraud and a time-waster to the secretary. A couple of encounters like this, and the PCs should begin to understand that they can't just be taken at their word about their problems - they either need to have some real proof, or start schmoozing up to the right people to gain access (which could represent an adventure in its own right).

Even if their stories are believed, it doesn't mean that they will actually get to meet the NPC in question - in many cases, an underling will tell them: "Okay, we will look into that" or "I will tell him about this". Some useful help might actually be forthcoming, even if it's not the direct intervention of the NPC. If they do meet the NPC, make them wait a while until the meeting. He should storm in, clearly coming from some other business, ask the PCs questions (with instructions for being precise and/or brief), and if he believes them, say: "OK, we will look into this" and start rattling instructions to his underlings while storming out of them. The PCs should understand that even this short meeting is a privilege, not a right. Extended meetings will come only after they have gained his confidence and trust, and they should feel truly honored.

Getting Help

So the PCs have convinced the NPC that yes, their situation is serious, and yes, they could use some help with their problem. But does that mean that the NPC himself will accompany them?

Not necessarily. After all, his time is still very limited, so if at all possible he will help them in a way that doesn't take up much of his time. Crawling through dungeons or investigating problems in a province is a rather lengthy affair, and he might have to deal with other problems elsewhere. So he will try to help in other ways - by loaning them magic items which should help with the problem, giving additional money and resources to tackle it (which allows the PCs far greater freedom with solving the problem, which in turn is more satisfying in an adventure), or by sending some of his own underlings with them. These won't be as powerful as the NPC, but they are useful in a fight without overshadowing the PCs. Only if the NPC believes that only someone of his power is able to deal with the threat will be accompany the PCs back - but even then, it makes sense to split the group, with the NPC and his underlings dealing with the main threat while the PCs deal with a related problem that is solveable at their level.

Reasons For Not Getting Involved Directly

If the PCs are upset because the NPC doesn't get involved in person, use one of the following excuses (after all, you don't want the NPC stealing the show):

• Another crisis in another province: There's more than one ongoing crisis right now with which the NPC has to deal. These crises could actually be related (which might only be recognized in hindsight) - after all, if an Evil Cult wants to cause widespread chaos and destruction, it makes sense to attack a number of places at the same time precisely for distracting powerful people. And even if it isn't, the NPC likely watches over a large number of places, so it's not unlikely that his attention is divided at crucial moments.
• Plausible Deniability: The NPC is likely to have many powerful enemies - and even non-enemies who view his moves with suspicion. So if he shows off at a random location and blasts a few dozen goblins (or demons) with fireballs, observers are left to wonder: Was he really merely doing a public service, or did his presence have a more sinister motive? Was he perhaps responsible for the problem in the first place? Think of what conspiracy theorists come up in the real world. Even the most saintly NPC will have people questioning his motives, so it will make sense if he limits his public appearances to avoid giving his enemies rhetorical fodder - which in turn would reduce his political influence and make it harder to get the authorities to cooperate at crucial moments. Empowering the PCs and giving them the tools to solve the problem themselves makes a lot of sense from this perspective.
• It's a trap: Powerful people tend to have equally powerful enemies. The crisis the PCs are trying to deal with might be nothing more than an elaborate trap to lure the NPC into the open and discover his tactics and weaknesses. It only takes a few incidents like this to make anyone wary. On the other hand, the relative weakness of the PCs protects them in such cases - after all, said enemies will hardly waste springing their trap on low-level flunkies (though alert PCs might discover myterious observers lurking nearby - who might become their own enemies in the future).
• The King has requested my services: Even powerful people need help from the authorities from time to time - such when a nation-wide effort to combat a threat is needed. As a result, such NPCs will have to spend a fair amount of time cultivating contacts with the local rulers - attending their social events, advising them on matters within their area of expertise, and so on. Will they truly risk upsetting the King to accompany the PCs on an adventure? Or will they try to solve their problem in another way?

To be continued...

Jürgen Hubert

• No long-term advance planning for PC character development. No longer do players have to worry how precisely to build their characters at first level when they want to take a specific prestige class twelve levels later. Now they can take character advancement one level at a time.
• Easier high-level PC creation. Creating high-level PCs - whether to replace an existing character or to start a campaign at a high level in the first place - is now simplicity in itself. You do no longer have to worry about what choices your character made at lower level - thanks to retraining, it's easy to justify the current character feats, powers, and skills. Similarly, picking magic items is easy - you start with three items with specific levels, and have some spare cash over to purchase weaker items.
• Fighters are now actually interesting. In 3.5, Fighters usually did little more than doing the same attacks over and over again, and their only real tactical choices involved which enemy to hit. No longer - they now have a variety of options as large as that of the other classes.
• Less-complex high-level spellcasters. Once your player characters hit double digits, deciding which spells your high-level wizards, clerics, and druids choose every day became a real chore, and it frequently held up the game while the players of these characters made up their mind. No longer - even wizards, who still can make some choices in that regard, now spend much less time on figuring out their daily spell lists.
• No class is useless in a specific fight. Who doesn't know the frustration of a rogue in a fight that involved constructs or undead? Or of a monk in a fight that involved only monsters with the "wrong" type of damage resistance? Or of a wizard when all the enemies had high spell resistances? Some classes were pretty much ineffective against certain kinds of enemies, leaving their players frustrated when an adventure featured them strongly. This is now pretty much gone, and for this I am grateful.
• Rituals. Separating most of the non-combat spells into rituals was a stroke of genius. Now the list of available rituals can be modified at the DM's leisure without giving a specific class too much power or taking too much power away from it. It also makes it easier for world-builders - they no longer have to take hundreds of spell effects into account when figuring out how magic may have impacted society. Conversely, since you do no longer have to be a high-level member of a specific class when you want to cast specific rituals, it's easy to justify NPCs who can cast individual rituals without making them into powerful combat spellcasters, turning them into "support roles" within the adventure without having to explain why they don't defeat the enemies of the local community instead of the PCs.
• Skill challenges. Skill challenges are a blast to run. They allow the DM to say: "I think these skills would be the most appropriate in this situation, but feel free to convince me of the appropriateness of other skills at well." This allows the PCs to get really creative with their skill uses and gives them a level of narrative control that I was really surprised seeing in a D&D edition.
• Minions. Minions are lots of fun for the DM. They allow me to "swarm" the player characters without overwhelming them, or without making me keep track of the hit points of large numbers of enemies. Back in 3.5, having two dozen enemies attack the PCs at once was a logistic nightmare. Now, it's no problem at all.
• Easier high-level NPC creation. In D&D 3.5, I was so frustrated with how much time I spent on creating high-level NPCs - time I could have used on developing the actual plot of the adventure - that I even created a Wiki to have better access to a large number of NPCs (ironically, the wiki became a huge hit while I soon afterwards abandoned D&D 3.5 for other RPGs...). But now, creating high-level NPCs is even easier than creating high-level PCs. Thanks to the straightforward level bonus, calculating derived stats is a snap that doesn't even involve looking up a variety of tables, and giving them specific powers is a straightforward process which doesn't take up much time.
• Easier monster creation/modification. Building and modifying monsters now is much easier. For my playtest adventure, I built an Aufhocker, a fey creature from German mythology that jumps on the backs of people and frightens them to near-death, and I was astonished how easy the process was. 3.5 sorely lacked such detailed guidelines.
• In-depth discussion on building encounters and monster roles. The chapter on building encounters and monster roles in the DMG is one of the most impressive pieces of GMing advice I have seen in any RPG. The CRs in 3.5 were extremely vague in comparison. Lengthily explaining how different types of monsters interact with each other in a fight, and giving them according roles that they are built around irrespective of origin was a stroke of genius!

Jürgen Hubert

Triggered by this and too many other threads like it.

Some people just cannot wrap their heads around the way the powers of D&D 4E work, especially the encounter and daily powers. They cannot think of how they can justify the availability of such powers within the metaphysics of the D&D world.

But in my opinion, that's the wrong approach. Don't think of power availability as a matter of metaphysics. Think of it as a matter of drama.

Think of your favorite action series that features a lot of combat. In each fight scene, there's a lot of "generic" sword-swinging, gun-shooting, or whatever fight techniques are being used within the setting of the series. If the directors and writers know their stuff, these techniques still manage to look impressive. But every now and then, usually no more than once or twice per scene, a character pulls a stunt that makes the audience go "Whoa!" (at least, if the series is any good).

These stunts are the equivalent of 4E daily and encounter powers.


In action series, even if it is possible to make every move as impressive as those special stunts, it is usually not even desirable. If the stunts don't have a baseline to compare to, then they will appear much less impressive than they would if they are more isolated incidents.

And it's for the same reason that the use of such powers in 4E is fairly limited. Just as it is not in the interest of directors to make every move devastatingly powerful, so it is not in the interest of D&D 4E fights to make every power equally devastatingly powerful, for that would wear out the players mentally and prevent these powers from appearing in any way special.

To sum it up, the powers of 4E are built with what is dramatically important, not with any nod towards what would be appropriate in realistic fights - where it usually makes sense to use your most powerful attacks as often and early as possible. If you like the latter style of play, I recommend taking a look at GURPS, which does this style of play very well. But don't hold it against D&D that it is trying to model a different approach.

Jürgen Hubert

Since the published books curiously neglect to provide guidelines for creating constructs, undead, or summoning and binding extraplanar creatures, I thought I should give it a try. By all means, please give me feedback on what you think if these rituals.


Animate (Construct)

The contraption you have put together stirs to artificial life.

Level: Same as level of (Construct)
Category: Creation
Time: 1 hour for constructs of levels 1-10, 8 hours for constructs of levels 11-20, one week with daily rituals of 8 hours each for constructs of levels 21-30
Duration: Permanent
Component Cost: (XP cost of construct)x4 gp
Market Price: As other rituals of the same level
Key Skill: Arcana or Religion (no check)

You animate a construct. The animation of each type of construct requires a different ritual, which needs to be learned separately. The actual manufacturing of the construct body requires more time, depending on the construct in question, but the costs are assumed to be part of the component costs and you do not deed to perform the construction yourself, as long as they are done according to your specifications. The construct will obey your commands to the best of its abilities.


Animate (Undead)

The corpse on the slab below you rises with a baleful light in its eyes.

Level: Same as level of (Undead)
Category: Creation
Time: 10 minutes for undead of levels 1-10, 1 hour for undead of levels 11-20, 8 hours for undead of levels 21-30
Duration: Permanent
Component Cost: (XP cost of undead) gp
Market Price: As other rituals of the same level
Key Skill: Arcana or Religion (no check)

You animate a undead creature. This only works for undead that are animated (i.e. you cannot create vampires, ghouls, and other undead with this ritual which propagate differently). The animation of each type of undead requires a different ritual, which needs to be learned separately. The undead creature will obey your commands to the best of its abilities. If you are creating minions, you can animate up to four minions with a single ritual, though you still have to pay the component cost for each separately.


Summon (Entity)

The creature you summoned manifests within the magic circle, snarling defiance at you as you try to bend it to your will.

Level: Same as level of (Entity)-5
Category: Binding
Time: 1 hour for entities of levels 1-10, 8 hours for entities of levels 11-20, one week with daily rituals of 8 hours each for entities of levels 21-30
Duration: Permanent
Component Cost: (XP cost of entity) gp
Market Price: As other rituals of the same level
Key Skill: Arcana or Religion

You summon an extraplanar entity (usually creatures with the "elemental" or "immortal" keywords, though the DM might allow the summoning of other beings as well) and attempt to bind it to servitude. The summoning of each type of entity requires a different ritual, which needs to be learned separately. The DC for successfully summoning an entity is equal to its level +10 - if this roll fails, it will not appear. Furthermore, if it is not summoned into a magic circle, it will be free to act upon arrival (which often means that it will attack the summoner). Actually binding the creature requires a skill challenge of a level equal to that of the creature summoned. The complexity depends on the duration of the servitude:

• Complexity 1: Assistance in a single encounter/completion of a trivial, short-term task.
• Complexity 2: Servitude for a single day.
• Complexity 3: Servitude for a week/completion of a moderately complex tast.
• Complexity 4: Servitude for a month.
• Complexity 5: Servitude for a year and a day/completion of a very complex or long-term task (such as permanently guarding a single site).

Possible skill uses for the skill challenge include (the DM should adjust these to fit the creature in question):

Arcana (hard DC): You remember ancient words of power that bind the creature to your will.
Bluff (moderate DC): You convince the creature that you have more power over it than it really has. A failure closes this approach off.
Diplomacy (easy DC): You offer to give the creature something it wants in exchange for service (such as sacrifices, increased freedom to act during its stay in the material plane, and so forth). On a successful roll, the DM will tell you if your offer is adequate, and give you suggestions for alternative offers if it isn't. Even if you reject the wishes of the creature, this does not count as a failure - only failing the diplomacy roll does.
Insight (moderate DC): You gain a better understanding of the creature's motivation and personality. Succeeding or failing this roll does not count as a success or failure for the skill challenge, but will give you a +2 bonus or -2 penalty on your next roll.
Intimidate (moderate DC): You threaten the creature with dire consequences if it does not submit to your will. A failure closes this approach off.
Religion (hard DC): You invoke ancient planar pacts that bind the creature to your will.

If you succeed on the skill challenge, the creature is now bound to your service (though if you made any concessions during a Diplomacy roll, it will be free if you break those agreements). If you fail, it will return to its home plane, possibly holding a grudge against the mortal who dared to summon it.

Note: Remember to read the errata for skill challenges, which can be found here.

Jürgen Hubert

The "default" setting assumption for D&D 4E is that civilized communities in the world represent "Points of Light" - small, flickering flames in the darkness, threatened by enemies and monsters from all sides. Every time the adventurers venture out of town, they brave the darkness and (hopefully) bring hope into dark places.

By contrast, the basic assumption for Urbis might very well be "Bonfires of Light" - civilization is standing tall, and is rapidly spreading across the globe. Vast cities, with populations ranging in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of people dominate most of the Known Lands. There is a definite sense among the people of Urbis that the March of Progress is unstoppable.

Yet in keeping with the fire metaphor, certain points should be kept in mind:

• Those who get too close to a flame get burned. Those who hold the power in their hands do not wish to share it, and those who wish to gain power often do not care who gets in the way of their ambitions. Intrigue and politics in the world of Urbis can often be as dangerous and vicious as the most savage beast in the deepest wilderness. Possibly even more so, for the beast is not prone to making long-term plans to destroy a foe and frequently lacks subtlety.
• Fire consumes - and bright fires consume more than small fires. Cities likewise consume everything within their reach. The nexus towers are the most obvious example of this - they consume part of the life force of all who live near (and they usually take far more from the poor than from the rich) to fuel the magic-powered economy of the cities. And to fuel the nexus towers, the cities need a constant supply of new people - either resettled former peasants whose small farms have turned into vast plantations, or a stream of newborn children who will receive little schooling and little opportunity to advance in life.
• Any fire can get out of control. The cities of Urbis have vast powers - and they all too often use it to sabotage their rivals. How long will it be until the Known Lands see a major conflict, where the cities and nations use their vast amounts of people and vast magical resources to destroy each other? Will the blaze of civilization turn into an all-consuming wildfire that leaves only ashes?

The "Points of Light" approach may be the easiest way of creating a setting that works well for D&D adventures. But it is not the only possible approach, and I hope to explore some of the alternatives in Urbis to their fullest.

Jürgen Hubert

This is something I've touched upon in my earlier review of the Exalted RPG, but I think this topic can use some further elaboration.

There comes a point in the career of an adventuring party when they realize that the local mayor, baron, or even king can no longer order them around. They have become too powerful - they could slaughter his guards and soldiers, give his court wizard a wedgie, stomp him to the curb, and steal his treasury. And when a particular ruler annoys them too much, they might actually turn him into an object lesson.

Some DMs might despair at such activities. "But they are supposed to respect authority figures, at least when they are not Evil Overlords!" Common responses include either unreasonably increasing the resources - magical or otherwise - of such rulers so that they can force the PCs to back off, or sulking in a corner and muttering about "derailed plots".

But I am of the opinion that such an action, far from threatening to end a campaign prematurely, represents a great opportunity! Instead of hiding behind the alleged authority of the alleged authority figures, the DM should take such rebellion as a bold political statement (whether the PCs actually realize that is irrelevant!): Essentially, the PCs are declaring that the normal laws do no longer apply to themselves, and that they are essentially a law unto themselves. And such a stateme

In fact, in this they are not too dissimilar like the nobility and other rulers of the world. Who will now pay greater attention to them, and seek to involve them in their own games of intrigue. And what could be more fun than that?

In fact, the PCs might be surprised to discover that instead of being punished for their act, other rulers will attempt to bribe them. Bribes can range from not-too-subtle monetary offers to stay away, to medals and knighthoods, to an offer to gain a noble title (possibly accompanied by a frontier fiefdom and marriage to a third cousin of someone important). The theory behind this is "it's better to have them on the inside spitting out, than on the outside spitting in". Sure, officially the PCs can't be rewarded for throwing a local ruler into the moat, but as an adventuring group they are sure to have done something heroic as of late that they could be rewarded for - and if not, the royal heralds will be sure to make something up.

The PCs will, of course, see through the charade pretty quickly that it isn't really about the hatchling white dragon they slew recently (and which has been embellished to an ancient wyrm by court-paid bards). But do they have the strength of will and moral fortitude to speak out against their flatterers?

Unlikely, since if they had, they would likely have shown more self-restraint during their rebellion in the first place (i.e., make plans to replace the local ruler with someone more competent instead of indulging in revenge porn). So they will stand there, shake hands with their benefactor, and pretend that everything is just swell so that they can get their rewards. And that's how the established ruers will reel them in.

Now they have become accomplices to the System. And the System will not hesitate to use them by pointing them at the enemies of the established rulers. Now that they have a stake in the existing system and have become Authorities in their own right, they have a strong incentive to cooperate. And if they now rule a domain and are struggling with running it... well, their benefactors will be all too willing to supply them with "advisers" who will whisper into their ears what their new peers will want them to hear.

And they should often reminded of the consequences of their new status. Someone had to pay for all those "gifts", and as likely as not it was the peasants who had to supply higher taxes for a few years to pay for their shiny new magic item that came with the title. When they learn of this, will they want to undo the bribe and give the money back to the peasants? But what of the money they stole during their initial act of rebellion? How did that affect the peasants of the fief they robbed - do they now suffer from weakened defenses against orc raids? What should they do about that?

Eventually, they should learn that all their actions - especially the short-tempered, irresponsible ones - have vast repercussions for those weaker than they are. Either they can accept that and fully become like the rulers they once rebelled again - or they can reject all this and stay away from power, and no longer try to challenge the authorities (or at least be more careful when they do).

Jürgen Hubert

Something came up in a forum thread about the ecology of the dragonborn: Some people claimed that their inclusion and portrayal was "completely unrealistic". This was not only about their existence or the fact that the females of the species have... mammary glands, but also how they could possibly live together with humans while lizardfolk are regarded as "monsters". In fact, one of the posters claimed that the "realistic" situation would be that all races would live in mono-racial enclaves, kicking out any members not of their own race as "scapegoats".

One can argue with that point, and I certainly did. But I think all of this misses the deeper point of world-building, especially for fantasy games like D&D. You do not set out to create a world that's as "realistic" as possible, because then you might as well play in a setting taking place on medieval Earth. Instead, you start out with a setting of core assumptions, and then try to justify them within the concept of the setting you are developing. Any other path lies to madness.

For the "default setting" of D&D 4E, the rule books assume that an old human empire of Nerath incorporated the player character races into its social structure, and even after the empire collapsed, the bonds forged between those races were strong enough to endure in later societies... most of the time. Other races, whether orcs or lizardfolk, never became part of the empire and thus were not counted as "civilized races" by the others. While there might be peaceful trade with such races, any members of those races traveling outside of their territory would nevertheless be seen with deep suspicion, if not attacked on sight.

This works for the "default setting", providing a justification just why those races can co-exist within a party. For Urbis, there are similar justifications - the old Atalan Empire forged similar bonds between the races, and the later bonds of trade and commerce forged with other races sufficed to make the rest count among the "civilized races" as well (this also includes gnomes and hobgoblins, both considered fully civilized),

Of course, I could have created a scenario where racial distrust is so much stronger that no few people will tolerate members of other races in their territory. But where would the fun be in that? The default assumption of D&D has always been that members of different races are able to go adventuring with each other with no more than the usual amount of hassle, and I wanted to support that.

So if you are building your own setting for D&D, don't come up with reason why something couldn't possibly work. Instead, try to justify the kind of setting elements that will make the setting more fun for the players.

Jürgen Hubert

Here's an old setting idea I once came up with.

Athanatos - A Transhumanist Fantasy Setting

Backstory

More than a thousand years ago, a new religion swept the land. Its adherents, called the "Church of the Celestial Star", worshiped a celestial being depicted as a many-pointed star that would allegedly soon arrive and take the souls of the faithful to a paradise. Its priests gained strange powers, only comparable to the druids who draw their strength from nature, and many people did not know what to make of them at first. But they gained large numbers of followers all over the world, and their numbers grew larger still when the world's most powerful observatories detected a distant object that looked like a many-pointed star - and this object was coming closer to this world.

As most of the world prepared to greet the coming of the Celestial Star, a lone wizard who had used his spells to travel from world to world returned from a long voyage. He had visited numerous planets - and some of them had been visited by the so-called "Celestial Star" before, and had been littered with the bones of thinking beings. He found the descendants of a few survivors who had magically shielded themselves from this entity, and from them learned the horrible truth: Apparently, the "Celestial Star" - which they called the "Ravager of Worlds" - sucked up the souls of all sapient beings on the worlds it passed by, leaving behind only corpses. He then learned of the techniques needed to protect locales from this entity, and returned home.

His announcement sent shock waves through society. Some regions took his advice to heart and made moves to magically protect themselves, but the more militant followers of the Celestial Star saw this as an affront to their religion and started a crusade against these heretics. For the few, final years before the passing of the Celestia Star, a war raged, and the embers were still burning when the Celestial Star - a massive being of the size of a small moon - came close to the world's orbit.

And as it turned out, everything happened as the wizard had predicted. The souls of all humans outside of a protected area left their bodies, leaving behind only empty shells that soon perished. Then the Ravager left, leaving a world mostly empty of humans behind. Only seven cities had managed to withstand the onslaught of the Crusade, and now the survivors had to spread out again and rebuild civilization.

Centuries passed. The magical arts flowered. Finallly, certain wizards learned how to separate the human soul from the human body - and how to reattach the soul to a different body. With this, an immortality of sorts was possible - upon the death of the body, the soul, instead of slowly evaporating in the Astral Plane could simply be attached to a new one, such as an alchemically created human or near-human one, a magical construct, an existing animal or plant, or some other, alchemically created hybrid or monster. Over time, many people learned how to "bond" to more than one body, switching between different ones as needed.

Later on, wizards also managed to create daimons - artificial souls that had never inhabited a human body in the first place. The weakest ones were used as servants, and more or less permanently bonded to a single body. The more powerful ones have wills of their own, and are in some places accepted as the equals of humans.

Nations and city-states rose and fell. Wars occurred - many of them doing little more than massive "property damage" in the form of destroyed bodies, but in some, forbidden soul-destroying weapons were used that were able to slay someone permanently. But all in all, human civilization flourished again.

But in recent years, there have been disturbing reports about the resurgence of the Church of the Celestial Star - and now it seems that the Ravager is indeed passing through this region of space again, though it will not come close to this world if it maintains its current course. Its followers believe that if their numbers are great enough, it will hear their prayers and come to take them, too, to Paradise - but since most people are frightened of another encounter with this entity that almost left this world empty of humans, this religion has been harshly suppressed in most regions. And others still have decided to deal with this entity once and for all - they plan to release massive magics on the Ravager in the hopes of destroying it.

Truly, these are uncertain times - but there are plenty of opportunities for bold adventurers as well...



I never really got around to developing it further, but maybe someone here will get some use out of it.

Jürgen Hubert

On various gaming boards, I've frequently come across the view that science is fundamentally opposed to "magic". But at least for the purposes of RPG settings, this is not true.

After all, what is science? A rigorous process for discovering the laws of nature. If this means, in the real world, that science tends to be opposed to the idea of magic, then it is only because there has never been a shred of solid evidence of anything like "magic". But in fantasy settings where magic obviously does exist, it evidently is a part of the "laws of nature", and thus the scientific method can be used to discover its laws just like it can be used to explain any other natural process.

In fact, it could be argued that wizards could be among the first adherents to the scientific method, as opposed to being its enemy. After all, they are already halfway there - they use observation and research to increase their knowledge. That's certainly the assumption I am using for Urbis, where the scientific method is known and finds increasingly widespread application.

I think the main reason why this "magic must be opposed to science" myth persists among gamers is because of White Wolf's old Mage: The Ascension setting, where a bunch of plucky wizards are trying to oppose the soul-crushing scientific oppression of the Technocracy, whose Men In Black hunt down everyone and everything that doesn't find into their scientific paradigm. The setting was fun, I admit - but it never really got right what science is actually about.

Jürgen Hubert